French President Emmanuel Macron met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Friday for their first official talks, with the war in the Middle East and concerns over Lebanon set to dominate the agenda.
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Macron, accompanied by his wife Brigitte, attended a private meeting with the American Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace, which lasted around an hour – significantly longer than a typical papal audience.
The French leader presented the pope, who is a sports enthusiast, with a signed jersey from France’s basketball team, as well as a reproduction of a 17th-century map by missionary Jacques Marquette, a collection of writings by Georges Bernanos and an official book on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Elysée said.
Details of the talks were not immediately released, but Macron had been expected to focus on “a resolution to the Middle East crisis”, the presidency said ahead of the meeting.
Concerns over Lebanon
The situation in Lebanon was expected to be a priority after the country was hit by deadly Israeli strikes on Wednesday, despite a lull elsewhere in the region. Both men have shown what officials described as particular concern over the situation there.
Leo XIV visited Lebanon last autumn on his first trip abroad, while Macron has repeatedly called for the country to be included in a two-week ceasefire agreed between the United States and Iran earlier this week.
The French president also discussed the conflict on Thursday evening with members of the Catholic Sant’Egidio community – an informal diplomatic channel of the Holy See active in Middle Eastern and humanitarian issues.
“Macron is a man of peace, he can do a great deal to support the Lebanese authorities. They must not be left alone,” the community’s founder Andrea Riccardi said.
In recent days, both Macron and Leo XIV have taken a firmer tone towards Donald Trump. After the announcement of a truce overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, they urged that the pause should lead to a lasting diplomatic solution.
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Building a relationship
Macron later met the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and was due to have lunch with him at the French Embassy to the Holy See. His programme also included visits to the Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome, and to the Basilica of St John Lateran.
For Macron, who built a close relationship with the late Pope Francis, the meeting was also a chance to get to know a different papal style – seen as more reserved and less direct.
The French president has long taken an intellectual interest in religion, without presenting himself as a practising Catholic. He used to discuss global crises as well as spirituality with Francis, with whom he was on first name terms.
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But that relationship had its tensions too. The late pope had strongly criticised France’s move to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution, as well as Macron’s plans to introduce assisted dying legislation, although the president has avoided using terms such as euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Macron is also expected to invite the Chicago-born pope, who speaks French and is known to be fond of the country, to visit France. He failed to persuade Francis to make a full state visit and the former pope declined to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2024, five years after the devastating fire.
The Vatican visit comes three days before Leo XIV is due to make a historic visit to Algeria – the first of its kind. Macron could use the occasion to pass on a “message” calling for the release of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who has been detained in Algeria since June 2025.
(with AFP)
